Conservative outlet Newsmax settles with Smartmatic in 2020 election defamation case

Conservative outlet Newsmax settles with Smartmatic in 2020 election defamation case


News anchors work at Newsmax’s booth during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 16, 2024.

Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images

A settlement has been reached in a defamation lawsuit pitting an electronic voting machine manufacturer targeted by allies of former President Donald Trump against a conservative news outlet that aired accusations of vote manipulation in the 2020 election.

Newsmax on Thursday confirmed a deal had been reached but further details were not disclosed. Smartmatic, the voting machine company, has claimed that Newsmax program hosts and guests made false and defamatory statements in November and December 2020 implying that Smartmatic participated in rigging the results and that its software was used to switch votes.

Newsmax argued that it was simply reporting on newsworthy allegations being made by Trump and his supporters, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and conservative attorney Sidney Powell.

The Delaware lawsuit, which takes issue with Newsmax reports over a five-week period in late 2020, is one of several stemming from reports by conservative news outlets following the election.

Smartmatic also is suing Fox News for defamation in New York and recently settled a lawsuit in the District of Columbia against the One America News Network, another conservative outlet.

Dominion Voting Systems similarly filed several defamation lawsuits against those who spread conspiracy theories blaming its election equipment for Trump’s loss. Last year, in a case presided over by Davis, Fox News settled with Dominion for $787 million.



Source

Rare earth stocks tumble as U.S. expects China to delay export controls
Politics

Rare earth stocks tumble as U.S. expects China to delay export controls

In an aerial view, a container ship sits docked at the Port of Oakland on October 10, 2025 in Oakland, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images Shares of several U.S.-listed rare earth miners fell on Monday as U.S. officials said they expect China to delay introducing export controls on critical minerals […]

Read More
Trump says he underwent an MRI examination
Politics

Trump says he underwent an MRI examination

U.S. President Donald Trump waits for Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s arrival at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. October 20, 2025. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he had undergone an MRI examination, without saying why. “It was perfect,” he told reporters on board Air Force One en […]

Read More
Brazil and U.S. to meet ‘immediately’ in search of tariff solutions, Lula says
Politics

Brazil and U.S. to meet ‘immediately’ in search of tariff solutions, Lula says

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a press conference at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado Adriano Machado | Reuters Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he had a positive meeting on Sunday with his U.S. counterpart President Donald Trump and their respective teams would start […]

Read More